Tarzan the Tiger

Ben Burgraff's critique of TARZAN THE TIGER is so well done that it would be difficult for anyone to comment further on the subject of the movie itself. I for one totally agree with his assessment. I love old serial "Cliffhangers" and this one is a true historical film classic. However, there are numerous companies that produce old movies on VHS tape and DVD for home entertainment, and some produce better tapes and discs than others. Some are perfectly produced with great definition and some are so fuzzy that they appear to dissolve while trying to watch and make sense of them. There are also some that unwittingly destroy a good movie because they are so paranoid that someone might copy the movies that they themselves had copied... So they superimpose graffiti (aka junk logos, etc.) in the viewing area of the subject, thus rendering it so annoying that most viewers can't stand to watch it. The Alpha Home Entertainment DVD Production of this particular 15 chapter serial is perhaps the worse produced thus far. "ALPHA VIDEO" graffiti appears in text with their flag logo at the upper right corner of every opening chapter and through the credits, and at various places in the film, in addition to the close of the film, rendering annoying and worthless. The Alpha Video Production DVD also appears to have been VHS video taped from television because there are those horizontal lines appearing at various places in the disc, and then from VHS to disc. I've seen a sharper image version of this same movie some time ago... It was produced by another DVD producer, I believe it was a Canadian company, and it had no graffiti to deface the movie or to distract one's viewing pleasure. I am among those that would like to see the entire movie from start to ending exactly as it was produced, without graffiti (aka logos, aka signs, aka symbols and text that was not originally in the movie). IF Alpha Video was around in 1929, and are the original and fully legal 1929 producers of TARZAN THE TIGER, then they should do with the film what they wish... But they are not the original producers, and it is a sin to ruin such historic movies the way they are... out of fear of piracy, or perhaps they are being over zealous... Who knows? At any rate, you may want to ask who produced the movie before you buy it... and if its produced by an individual, or a company, or a corporation, or an institution that ruins good movies by superimposing personal graffiti or "logos" on them, then you might want to pass on it until someone comes out with a quality production of your favorite film. And, please don't buy pirated movies... Pirated films are unlawful and they do hurt the industry.

This is an excellent adaptation of the book, Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar. Frank Merrill's classically handsome features and lithe, muscular body make him a fine Tarzan visually; his vine-swinging and elephant riding are unparalleled in the movies; and the script allows him to be the refined, educated Tarzan of the books, at least intially (until he loses his memory.) This is an exciting serial, full of action and with great sets and scenery. The only question is: why a tiger? But the mistake is a charming one, since it echoes the one ERB himself made in initially putting tigers in Africa himself.

TARZAN THE TIGER is certainly not in a class with the FLASH GORDON or SUPERMAN serials of the 30s and 40s, but it does hold some distinctions; filmed as a silent, to capitalize on the growing popularity of sound, a music track and sound effects were added (most memorably, the first recorded 'Tarzan yell'), making this the first 'sound' Tarzan; 36-year-old gymnastics champion Frank Merrill as 'Tarzan the Tiger', would introduce acrobatics, such as rope-climbing and vine-swinging, which would remain fixtures in all subsequent Tarzan films; Natalie Kingston, 24, as 'Lady Jane', Tarzan's wife, would don a costume very similar to the one Maureen O'Sullivan wore starting with TARZAN ESCAPES, through the remainder of her MGM films; AND Kingston would perform a breast-baring swim, five YEARS before the famous TARZAN AND HIS MATE nude underwater romp.

While Merrill's 'acting' is embarrassing (he seems to be limited to three expressions: happy, dazed, and angry), his character is fairly faithful to the vision of author Edgar Rice Burroughs; educated, a sophisticate, as comfortable in a dinner jacket as in his (unintentionally funny) jungle 'wardrobe' of a leopard-skin headband and half-bib shorts, with moccasins...why he would cover up his Herculean chest is anybody's guess! Of course, after he gets conked on the head after 'liberating' some priceless jewels in the Lost City of Opar, he forgets his 'Lord Greystoke' persona, reverting to a more Weissmuller-type Tarzan (albeit more loquacious), through most episodes of the serial.

As with all serials, cliffhanger endings abound. Will poor Lady Jane, prisoner of Arab slavers, then of a false friend (sleazy Al Ferguson), be sold on the block to the highest bidder, or suffer the indignity of a "fate worse than death"? will La (Kithnou), the rather 'butch' Queen of the eternally dancing (and mentally-challenged) Opar tribe, win the heart of the man she loves, Tarzan? Will our Hero survive even ONE cliffhanger WITHOUT the aid of the local elephant, "Tantar, the Terrible"?

While the plot is silly and repetitious, the serial does offer some impressive views of Merrill's brawny arms and back, and equally impressive views of Kingston's 'charms', as well as a guy in an ape suit (uh, I mean a gorilla) that gives Tarzan the best fight of the fifteen chapters.

All in all, TARZAN THE TIGER isn't bad, as a 'popcorn flick'!

THE STORY & GENRE -- Serial 266 minutes. No feature version known. Animal communication is my hallmark for Tarzan as genre, but that's not the case here. Unless you count fighting a gorilla, which I don't, not genre.

THE VERDICT -- Feats of strength, and pre-code girls in skimpy outfits, to keep you occupied. Otherwise, it's kind of dopey, and Frank Merrill's acting is quite limited, but OK, it's Tarzan. I'll give it a 6.5.

FREE ONLINE -- Yes, mainly in pretty rough but watchable condition.